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A world without IoT is idIoTic

by

Martyn Etherington

A world without IoT is idiotic.

This was the bold proclamation made by Tele2 and Sisteer at last week’s IoT Talks event in Paris. Set against a backdrop of a 100-year-old distillery plant in the center of Paris, L`espace Clacquesin, old industrial collided with new industrial last week as some of Europe’s innovative IoT thought leaders and practitioners gathered to discuss the realities of IoT.

Sharing real-world IoT success

While the media, analysts and many enterprises talk about IoT as a future endeavor, these talks focused on IoT success. Tele2’s Ravi Avidan and Ingrid Wistrand’s session on how IoT is driving business growth set the tone for the conference.

Rather than focusing on the number of connected devices, they emphasize how IoT – as a strategic imperative – can drive business outcomes that result in saving money, making money, and growing closer to customers.

IoT transformation

The conference was peppered with examples of how leading companies of all sizes are using IoT to transform their business. Companies that once offered a product are now dynamic IoT-connected service companies. This parellels the message I’m hearing from Cisco Jasper’s customers: IoT doesn’t change the business you’re in, but it does change how you do business.

Check out how forward-thinking companies have already embarked on this journey at Titans of IoT and the Tele2.

And the audience says?

Another aspect of the conference that I enjoyed was real-time feedback and input from the 200+ audience. Using the IoT Talk app, attendees answered survey questions.

Most interesting to me: “What is your biggest barrier to implementing IoT?”

54% cited “lack of IoT strategy,”

32% who reported “lack of IoT competence”

Simply getting started in IoT connected services is a huge obstacle, so it’s no surprise that more than half of the audience cited lack of strategy. Those who are struggling with this ought to check out Cisco Jasper’s recent blog post: 5 fundamentals of IoT success.

What can IoT do for you?

I’m pleased to see the conversation moving to business growth and focusing on real-world examples of IoT success. Over the next few weeks, Cisco Jasper will be looking at three business outcomes in greater depth:

Saving money

Making money

Improving the customer experience

Like this conference, we’ll zoom in on IoT success and how companies are using IoT to transform their business. Be sure to subscribe to the Cisco Jasper blog (top right of the page) so you don’t miss out.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you to decide: Is a world without IoT IdIoTic?